E-bulletins - Gifted and Talented

Effective G&T provision improves teaching and learning for all students – but do your colleagues realise this? This ebulletin issue of Gifted and Talented Update offers advice on raising awareness of the benefits G&T can bring to your school as a whole

As a follow-up to our last issue, here we provide an overview of some of the issues surrounding academic language for G&T learners, as it is readily apparent that formal English can be considered to be an additional language for many learners and perhaps even most disadvantaged learners

Advanced bilingual learners are the focus for this issue. We explain how to provide challenges for gifted and talented learners who speak English and other languages

Here we provide some guidance on the framing of the letter to parents, the kinds of information that should be included and thoughts on how communication with parents can be framed to avoid potential pitfalls

The Pupil and Parent Guarantees, that are currently the subject of a DCSF consultation, make specific reference to the provision for G&T learners. Here we consider what this might mean for your school

This G&T e-bulletin summarises the provision which schools will be expected to make concerning the pupil and parent guarantees

Without a system to identify G&T potential, it can take up to two years international new arrivals's language to develop enough to surface in formal written English. This issue, part of our occasional series on inclusion, shows how you can tell an EAL G&T student within six weeks of their arrival

As nationwide programmes to support G&T provision are on the wane, there is more work to be done at a school level. Here we look at how embedding good practice into classrooms begins with robust analysis of the data

The next two issues of this e-bulletin will analyse the critical assumptions and issues in Ofsted's Gifted and Talented Pupils in Schools report, published in December 2009 (ref 090132); specifically its findings and how schools can usefully respond

Second issue exploring how different characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and free school meals eligibility influence the probability of inclusion with G&T students

In this issue we explore what the DCSF School Census, January 2009 tells us about identification and how pupil characteristics affect the probability of inclusion within the national G&T population

In the second of our e-bulletins looking at guidance given to SIPs, we consider what questions you should be asking to evaluate your G&T provision prior to the visit from your improvement partner

This is the first issue of Optimus Education's new fortnightly e-bulletin, Gifted and Talented Update, which will focus on the ways that whole-school issues affect provision for more able and very able learners

SENCO Week looks at how to support those students with DME (dual or multiple exceptionality) and how to help them fulfil their potential

SENCO Week considers the links between SEN and G&T at schools; gifted and talented students are often considered as having specific learning needs and are equally in need of support

These primary and secondary enrichment activities explore ways to entertain pupils in their holidays, and consider whether video games are a good source of entertainment for young people

Enrich science and ICT with these activities that look at space travel and satellite communications, and invite pupils to make suggestions and offer solutions to hypothetical problems read more

These enrichment activities focus on design, psychology and communication, looking at sportswear innovation and the use of slang read more

This week's enrichment activities look at environmentally friendly alternatives to transport and grounds maintenance read more

These enrichment activities encourage pupils to apply logical thought to real life situations, to learn the benefits of considered evaluation.

These enrichment activities focus on geography and maths, looking at mapping the landscape and finding the centre. read more

These enrichment activities encourage pupils think creatively and apply their learning to two different situations involving economics and minority languages read more

One of these enrichment activities looks at global warming, the other at endangered buildings read more

These enrichment activities get pupils to think about unusual animals and ways of converting natural power into electricity read more

Thinking about death with secondary students, and imagining flying homes with primary pupils read more

This week's activities take examples from recent news to encourage pupils to think about the sounds that are all around them and the power of community read more

These enrichment activities get pupils to think about the dangers of the internet, and ways to prevent conflict through the innovative use of animals read more

These activities get pupils to explore innovative ways to approach maths and to consider their ethical standpoint. read more

These enrichment activities get pupils to consider the meaning and effects arbitrary labels. read more

These activities encourage pupils to use their problem solving skills to tackle two very different issues. read more

Developing pupils' creative thinking skills, drawing on recent events for inspiration read more

A secondary enrichment activity which asks pupils to consider the ethics of economic conditions, while for primary pupils there's a creative activity about resources read more

These activities encourage pupils to think both logically and creatively to find solutions for everyday problems read more

E-bulletins – Gifted and Talented